Internal business environment - managing change (Lewin, approaches to change, barriers) Flashcards
Lewin - 5 stages of change
- preparation, consult people to ensure everything thought through, motives and means
- unfreezing, breaking down current culture and opening minds, confront staff unsure and historic policies
- changing, change policies, brief staff
- refreezing, consolidate new state, remove options of returning to old state
- evaluation, has the change been successful, are further adjustments required
Different approaches to managing change
- action-centred - practical approach to change that is driven by finding a solution to a problem
- negotiated - bargaining process between employees, employers and other stakeholders
- participative - employees are free to discuss views
- piecemeal - small incremental changes being made over time
- top-down - management decides what to do and imposes changes
Change agents - internal and external
- leader of group, experience from within, understanding of culture
- external consultant, experience across many firms and specialist knowledge
Barriers to change - individual
- fear of redundancy
- inertia - stress and fear of new situation
- different viewpoints of the benefits of change
- forces more training
- loss of control
Barriers to change - groups
- trade unions stop change they think will be harmful - working hours etc.
- also can promote change if people begin to group together in favour of decision
Barriers to change - organisations
- larger organisations have formalised rules, regs, procedures - NHS
- this makes implementing change much more difficult
- may require changing - organisation structure, management style, way decisions are made, types of jobs people do
Strategies to support individuals through change
- negotiation and agreement - feel involved
- participation and involvement, quality circles - less rumours
- gradual introduction - don’t overload
- threats to define clear boundaries - avoid people not abiding
Top down - advantages and disadvantages
+ useful in crisis where change needs to be made quickly
+ holistic overview in line with objectives
- staff resistance as they feel they are being overlooked and undervalued
- miss out on knowledge and expertise of staff
Negotiated/participative - advantages and disadvantages
+ fosters trust between management
+ everyone is committed if they contributed
- time-consuming, lengthy discussions
- trust damaged if mgt retract empowerment or employees abuse it
Piecemeal - advantages and disadvantages
+ employees become accustomed to change as it is gradually introduced, build confidence for the future
+ easier to manage and control and reduces risk
- sense of overall direction may be lost
- smaller changes may conflict each other
Action centred - advantages and disadvantages
+ allows organisation to try out solutions on a small scale for limited time
+ explores many different options, backup strategies formed
- piloting ideas is a lengthy and expensive process
- if there is only one clear solution, this method is redundant (legislation requirements)
Internal change agents - advantages
- experience from within the firm
- in-depth knowledge of firms culture and processes
External change agents - advantages
- experience of change across many firms
- specialist knowledge on mgt techniques
Tasks performed by change agents
- diagnosing issues
- educating and inspiring employees benefits of change
- establishing targets and strategies
- defining roles and responsibilities for employees within change
Unfreezing - specifics
- identify possible challenges
- idea generation for effective solutions
- breaking down beliefs and assumptions
